a look back at december {or the post with all the collages}

 december arrived and so did the snow! {our camera battery was temporarily lost in the move so lots of these are phone pics- sorry!} this picture was taken between snows on our back porch. it might be cold, but it really is beautiful! i love having seasons & if we're going to have a cold season i'm so glad there's snow.

 i decorated for Christmas the first weekend in december and we made the sad choice not to cut down a real tree. up here in the woods we're surrounded by potential Christmas trees. we could go outside, walk 100 yards and cut down a tree. we were planning on going out to HoneyRock to cut one down, but the more i thought about it, the more i realized that we should just put up our little fake one from my childhood {it was the tree my mom gave me for all the ornaments i made once there were too many to fit on our big tree!}. we were only going to be home for 2 1/2 weeks in december and then we'd be gone for 2 weeks. i was afraid we'd come home to a burned down house or a giant pile of needles and neither of those sounded very appealing. so up went the little tree, which turned out to be perfect! 

{maybe a little too perfect...it's still up}

one of my favorite things to decorate this year has been ornaments. since we just used our little tree i had lots of ornaments left over so i put them everywhere! every glass container i own was filled with colorful glass and i loved it!

 

i made another wreath. actually i made 3 more wreaths in december. but i made another yarn wreath! {check out a great tutorial here by danielle} i figured this one would be able to stay up all winter. it just feels so cozy! right now it's hanging on our bedroom door but will probably move to the entry to replace the crazy ornament wreath that's there now {told you...Christmas is still up in our house!}

i also made a few new headband & clip designs that were meant for the shop for the Christmas season but they all ended up being sold to people here or being given as gifts before i could ever photograph or list them! a few will be remade and might show up as winter {subtract the red} or valentines {subtract the green} designs soon!

also new in the shop have been these lovely cabochon earrings. i recently found a new supplier that i love and have been buying these little flowers by the dozens. i made myself a bunch of earrings/bobby pins/rings first to see what i liked best and they will slowly start showing up in the shop! 

a few are already listed, including my favorite the mustard & teal dahlia ring. i wear one all the time! 

the snow makes me either want to play outside or cuddle up inside with a good project. i've been crocheting a TON but i don't have many pictures of the final products. something i did complete and photograph {but failed to mail! sorry to the mamas who are getting these if they don't fit your babies when they finally arrive!} were these appliqued onesies. didn't they turn out cute?! 

i didn't take process photos since it was near midnight when i made these but it wasn't difficult! i just picked a font i loved and printed out giant letters (backwards. print them backwards). i traced the letters onto some wonder under which i then fused to the fabric. once it was fused i cut out the designs, peeled off the backing and iron the fabric to the onesie. easy peasy until this point. 

the next step is to stitch down the edges to insure the letters won't come off after being washed many times. my sewing machine and the onesies got in a fight and the sewing machine won. next time i will conquer this little problem, but in the mean time i hand stitched a running stitch around the edges. done and done.

that's a wrap on december. except, of course, for Christmas and MAUI which will get their own posts. then we're caught up to real life here in january!coming up tomorrow will be my it's in the bag post as part of ashley's blog crawl. head over and check out today's blogger in my group, alycia at the curious pug and then come back tomorrow to find out what's in my bag! {or purse. i still call it a purse. weird?}

until then i leave you with this...

a recap, part 2: the move and beyond

so moving day arrived and we weren't quite ready! turns out we acquired a lot of stuff in the past 2 years and we needed a bigger truck. {this is what happens when parents call & request you remove all your belongings from their attic!} brandon spent a frantic few hours packing and repacking and creating space out of nothing and i decided what we could part with. i made a pile on the curb that included some furniture along with random stuff from the house. i went back inside to clean for a few minutes, and when i came out i discovered that my stuff in the pile on the curb had been replaced with hubby's fishing pole, golf clubs and baseball bat bag. unacceptable! sweet hubby was trying to save my junk by giving up his things. i made a few phone calls and found someone to come fetch the important things and store them until we could bring them home! after the madness of packing up our little house ended we were off!

usually when we drive maddie gets buckled into the backseat {otherwise she tries to ride in my lap} but on this trip every inch of the car was full. my little fuzz was such a trooper! she made it six hours in this tiny space! 

we arrived safely in wisconsin and were greeted by a whole group of people ready to help us move in. it was such a blessing to have help right away and they had also stocked our pantry and fridge! yet another sign of God's provision throughout this move! we began unpacking and settling in to our new rental house. it took maddie over a week to feel comfortable here. for the first few days she wouldn't sit or lay down or look out the window- she just followed me everywhere i went! eventually she got comfortable and realized that there were all kinds of exciting things to see if she looked out the window! 

maddie has just spotted a deer in the yard!

brandon's parents sent a half a semi-load of stuff to us. it included most of the toys hubby owned as a child, lots of toilet paper & paper towels, a giant case of shaving cream, a box of baking supplies {really the shipment could have been its own post but the camera was m.i.a. at the time!} and this beauty of a table! sorry for the ick photo- we have bad light after about 3 pm.  this dining room table seats 8 without any leaves {there are 3!} and used to sit in hubby's grandparents house. i love that it was theirs and i love that it's huge! 

the table arrived just in time because we hosted our first thanksgiving! my parents and sister {and sadie} came up for the weekend. it was wonderful to have visitors and only mildly stressful to cook thanksgiving dinner for the first time. we all survived the weekend and still loved each other in the end! 

included on the menu was this cranberry apple pie that i found on bake at 350. it really was as delicious as bridget promised it would be!

the weather turned cold. really cold. and i had the constant urge {still do} to create something warm with yarn. one of those projects was this tiny hat for a friend's baby. it's so rewarding to start with some yarn and end with something someone can wear! more crochet projects coming soon!

part ii was longer than expected so i'll finish with part iii {december} tomorrow!

a recap, part 1

now that you have the long story of how we got to the woods, 

here's a quick recap of what we've been doing since october!

all summer i worked with a sweet customer to create a one of a kind belt for her niece's wedding. the wedding was in october. it was so fun to be a part of someone's wedding day and create something just as the bride envisioned it! 

{i'm working on getting digital photos of the bride on her wedding day, dress, belt & all!}

then hubby and sister bear celebrated their birthdays! he's 27 & she's 23. 

my little sister is all grown up! 

every year for b's birthday {and only for his birthday} i make The Cake. it's delicious. and could kill you! the cake is pretty harmless, but the frosting has 6 sticks of butter, 9 eggs and a bag of chocolate chips.

UNREAL.

even though i should have been packing up my craft supplies {and not making new things} i tried my hand at the yarn wrapped wreaths that are popping up on blogs all over! this was my first one and i've made 2 more since!

{sorry! late night cell phone picture}

on october 13 we celebrated 3 wonderful years of marriage 

{it was also the 5 year anniversary of our first date!}

we put aside packing for a night & went out to dinner at ivy, a new restaurant in downtown wheaton that hubby's baseball team had given us a gift certificate to. it was delicious and we really enjoyed getting to walk somewhere for a date, knowing that wouldn't be possible in the woods.

just as we were getting ready to move, our little camry decided it wasn't up for living in the woods and died. once and for all. it had a good, long life and in the end was towed away by victory auto wreckers.

yes. the victory auto wreckers. 

if you grew up in chicago you can probably recite this commercial. 

wonderful and ridiculous and still on tv today!! 

the door didn't fall off our car and the guy didn't hand us fanned out $20s but it was still a wonderful way for the little car to go!

as moving day approached and the house started to clear out, maddie wasn't quite sure what to do with herself. one day i found her curled up in the pile of bedding that was waiting to be packed.  the furniture was already on the truck and she had no place else to hide! 

{she was wearing her giants collar for the playoffs...it worked!} 

part ii: the move and beyond coming tomorrow!

moving to the woods...

since a new year has just begun and we've just embarked upon a new chapter of our lives, it's time to update the blog. i'm planning to start fresh from this point and be a much more diligent blogger, but first i thought i should share just how we ended up moving to northern wisconsin! it's a wonderful story of God's provision and direction in our lives so bear with me if i get long winded!

in september i got to spend a week teaching a jewelry class at Northwoods Adventure {the week at HoneyRock set aside for Wheaton alum ages 65+}. of all the retreats we've hosted, this group is my favorite. they are up for anything, anxious to meet new friends, and are so full of stories and wisdom. the whole week i felt like i was using my gifts, bringing joy to people and feeling fulfilled {a HUGE change from the way i felt at my job at home}. i kept asking the Lord for more opportunities to serve in this way & to use my gifts upon returning home. by the end of the week we had worked things out for me to teach crafting classes at the retirement community many of these dear people live in. i thought that was exactly the help i needed to return to a life i wasn't excited about. God had other plans.

this was during one of their worship times. recognize that headband?
image courtesy of Ted & Donna Loy, Wheaton College, '61

that sunday, i went to church in town and the youth pastor was giving the congregation an update on the church's youth ministry. it wasn't quite a sermon, mostly informational, but at the end he said to everyone, "i just want to ask you this morning, do you love your life? are you following God's call wherever it leads?"

i sat in the back of the {very small} church in tears. no. i do not love my life! i don't want to go back to my life! but i don't see another option right now! brandon and i had been praying for another job for me for months, but door after door was closed.
after the sermon the interim senior pastor got up and announced that they had a job opening in the church that needed to be filled in the next two weeks and he would be accepting applications after the service.
i was stunned. speechless. and still in tears. immediately {yes, during church} i texted brandon, who was still down in wheaton, and asked what he thought about moving to the woods. in 2 weeks.

naturally he thought i was totally crazy, but we've both been wanting to come back here for 3 years so.... after church i talked to a few people who know us and love us to see what they thought about the idea. everyone was encouraging. i drove home that afternoon and brandon and i talked and i prayed and we talked some more {i was probably a very distracted driver}. that week we decided i would at least apply for the job at church and see where God led from there. there were so many things that would need to fall into place that the whole thing seemed completely unlikely. we had gotten so used to God saying no that we'd forgotten what it was like to hear a yes. brandon would need a job. we'd need to break our lease. we'd need to quit our jobs {brandon had just been promoted}. we'd be leaving our close friends & my family. we'd need to find a year round rental in a place almost 100% full of summer cottages.
needless to say, all of those things fell into place. i met the senior pastor and applied for the church job a week later when we were back at HoneyRock for the 60th anniversary weekend. i interviewed over the phone four days later. two days after that i was extended a job offer. meanwhile, HoneyRock offered brandon a job through the end of winter. our landlords kept our security deposit but didn't require us to finish out our lease. we were researching rental houses when we got an email from friends of ours who were leaving the northwoods {to move to wheaton of all places!}. an offer had just fallen through on their house so it was going to be available. they offered to rent it to us for whatever we could afford. they were moving out 6 days before we needed to move in. we were afraid of the whole thing, but God's leading was undeniable- so we were off to the woods!

God has been so good to us. two and a half years ago when our graduate program ended at HoneyRock we longed to stay here, but the doors were closed. we spent the next two years wandering from place to place, from state to state, try to determine what God had for us. it took two and a half years, 4 states, 3 lousy jobs and countless job applications for us to land right back where we started. our hearts had stayed here in the northwoods and now we're back.

 things aren't quite settled yet. we are only staying in this house until it sells. brandon hasn't found a full time job {this is not the best place to be job searching}. we're still working on paying off the debt we incurred while we were unemployed a few years ago. but God has led so far. He has provided for our every need. and He will continue. 


^"In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Philippians 1: 4-6

second hand saturdays

welcome to a new feature here on the blog where i spotlight recent thrifted or free finds!

 usually these are small items...plates or candlesticks for cake stands, jewelry to be repurposed, a skirt or sweater. but today, for the inaugural post of second hand saturdays, here's my most recent & most beautiful acquisition!

this beautiful hutch showed up on freecycle a few weeks ago. i just happened to be sitting in front of the computer when the email arrived. usually the good items like this go before i have a chance to ask hubby if he wants to haul it back to our house and send an email. on this day i decided not to wait and just sent the email immediately.

 i was the first response!! never happens. never. i could be the first person on a bag of cat food or some used coloring books but never something as pretty as this hutch! i arranged for some heavy lifting help for hubby and this little beauty made it home! it is now sitting in the corner of our dining room filled with linens, china and cookbooks. can't wait to see where it will live in our new home!

where is summer going?

i looked at the calendar and suddenly it was the middle of july! it's just starting to feel like summer around here (not the temperature....it's been hot for a long time) & i'm realizing it's halfway over! i had a mental list going of what i would like to accomplish this summer and it's time things got kicked into high gear. so without further ado, the summer to-do list!

summer 2010:
plant a vegetable/herb garden (there it is behind the monster!)

get the craft room organized once & for all
visit the french market (lots!)
have fresh flowers in the house at all times
go to baseball games (check! mlb. minor league. high school. summer ball.)
spend time in door county
make pesto with basil from our garden (5 times already!!)
visit the woods
do at least one craft show (whole post on this coming...i promise! i survived the rain...but just barely)

make the laundry area happier (in hopes of doing laundry more often)
catch up on the Bible study i wasn't able to finish earlier this year
go to california 
have people over for a barbeque
spend time with family
pick berries or cherries
visit the ocean 

visit the morton arboretum
eat lots of ice cream
spend extra time with my Nana
walk the dog more (goal: every night) (this helps us eat more ice cream!)
eat fresh sweet corn (soon!)
read through the Bible
take steps towards making craftee mcgee's a legit business(tax info arrived in the mail a few days ago!)
ride my bike
see the hawks WIN THE STANLEY CUP! (i know the picture is terrible- it was madness- but there's the cup!!)

visit cantigny
get tan (ha!)
go camping
read at least 5 books (5 wasn't enough. there's a list coming in another post)

looks like i've done better on my list than i thought! a bunch more of those will be crossed off this next week. and there's a post coming on the laundry room. and another on the craft room. hooray summer! i must admit i liked summer a lot better when it meant no responsibility!

5000

our little camera recently took it's 5000th picture!

june 20. milpitas, ca.all of lindsay (my sister in law) and gabe's wedding presents. about to be unloaded & opened at brunch.
the very first photo the camera took was deleted but here's one from the first time it was used

april 4, 2009.three lakes, wi.we bought the camera when we went to visit a litter of puppies that ended up containing our little monster. 
it's the canon powershot sd790 is. nothing fancy but it's done a great job! it was on clearance plus we bought the display model so we got an extra 20% off! all together we paid $80.
thanks little camera for 5000 pictures. for documenting our baby puppy, years 2 & 3 of our marriage, multiple weddings, my many projects, moments with friends, and now for taking great pictures of the products in my shop!  

(shameless plug alert! find this headband here.)

a quick life update

with baseball season in full swing life has been a bit crazy around here so here's a mostly pictoral update through the lens of the iphone! 

one of my latest and greatest goodwill finds. 4 cherry glasses. 99 cents each (whatever happened to the cents symbol? i liked it. someone should bring it back...ooo! html code! here it is ¢! i'm bringing you back little ¢ sign!) 99¢ each!

after the crushing defeat the warriors suffered today i felt the need to get crafty so i made these two flowers by cutting circles out of a satin-y fabric & melting them over a flame (and almost burning my hand off). big one = pin. little one = bobby pin.

our herb garden is sitting on the kitchen cart waiting to be planted outside! the frame of the garden has been built but we haven't had a chance to buy dirt (plus we've had frost this week). soon little plants. soon. 

hideously awesome green vintage bag. bowling? maybe? goodwill. $2.99. (299¢) soon to be my carry on. any ideas on how to clean weird green leather type fabric? 

inside said green bag: my current stash of candlesticks for cake stand making -- getting their own post soon! sorry that's a terrible picture.

this is monster right after eating half of a raw hamburger. my hamburger. right off the counter. she got in big trouble. she looks sad. and yet triumphant.

thrift store find! if i can trust the bag this is an unfinished quilt circa 1880ish. um...awesome. 

the stash of plates waiting to be made into awesome pillars of dessert display. 

finished cake plates #s 1 & 2. again...more detail to come.

yesterdays game was in the middle of a windstorm and i decided i couldn't wear my hair down again today. problem is my hair isn't actually long enough to wear up so i made this headband in warrior colors before i the games this morning. it's not perfect craftsmanship at ALL but it got the job done today.

 sneak peek of a new product about to hit the shop! check back soon for details!

so there's lots happening here in the sharpe house. i'm feeling a longer more contemplative post coming up soon but baseball season is here, the sun is out, it was light until almost 8 tonight and craftee-ness is in full swing- we are blessed!

those blasted bees

since the weather has been nice we've rigged up a little system that lets maddie roam the porch freely and hang out on her nifty bed (freecycle!)

the past few times i've been out there with her i've noticed quite a few bees flying overhead and figured they had a home somewhere nearby. not wanting our monster to get stung, i searched all the normal places but found no bees. then a few days ago we were outside watering my little herbs and a bee flew right into that ridiculous grill on a pole. of course! the perfect hiding place for a swarming bunch o bees... a dark old grill on a pole (apparently the pride and joy of one of the previous owners of the house).

so i went to the store and bought bee spray and my sweet husband risked life and limb to kill those darn bees.  he says they were sleeping peacefully when he opened that lid...didn't even see it coming. if only the grill was still hooked up to the gas line...we could have just lit them on fire!! all that's left now is the shell of their old home.

they'll probably try to move back in at some point, but for now our sweet monster can enjoy her sunshine unharmed.

the kitchen: phase 1

just a quick look at our project today- finally painting the kitchen! more detail to come but for now here's a before and after picture of what what accomplished today!

BEFORE:

AFTER: 

even the dark pictures taken late at night are SO much better! it's a pretty dark room and the change of paint really helps lighten things up- plus we covered up all the spots where the 60s wallpaper was showing through! 

 

phase 2 will include scraping the weird stuff off the ceiling, painting it bright white,  painting the pantry and maaaaaybe painting the cabinets. i'm not sure about those yet. thoughts?